Splash95
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Posts posted by Splash95
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What are the local watering holes (bars) there?
The is one actual bar in Clovis, it's called Kelly's and I've found it unremarkable at best. There used to be a couple of others, but I heard the owners retired and sold their liquor licenses to Allsup's gas stations (or maybe to one of the churches which reportedly hoard them). The "nearby" college town of Portales has at least 2 or 3, the most popular of which is the Dawg House. I've never been there but have heard very mixed reviews, for instance that the owner hates military guys. If you're much like me, your social life will revolve around getting out of Clovis. I've spent weekends (or longer) in Lubbock, Amarillo, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos, Tulsa, C-Springs, Denver, Dallas, Houston, Tucson, Phoenix, Santa Monica, Atlanta and Destin in the year and a couple of months since I PCSed. However, work commitments and exhausted leave days (I have about 5 at present) will probably curtail my travel in the near future.
As for housing, I bought a house since, like others, I found little appeal in the rental market. I'm not too concerned about taking a loss when I sell the place as long as it's not the kind of catastrophic loss that would be brought about if the base closed. I should add that I'm renting out half my house (3 br/2 ba, 2000 sq ft, in one of the actual good neighborhoods) for $500/mo plus half the utilities. There probably aren't many similar deals around, but if your first stop at CVS is the 551st (which I assume it will be), ask around a bit and check the bulletin boards--you may find something better than what's publicly advertised.
Anyway, welcome to Cannondahar! (the most recent I've heard, to add on to Clovass, Blovis, Clovistan, Afcannonstan and FOB Cannon)
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Nsplayr, I was in that exact situation after a non-vol to a base whose identity you can surely surmise. To confirm what Dupe said, if I had 7-day opted, my DOS would have been set for the day my Nav school commitment was up. I elected to go ahead and take the known bad deal (with some hope for a better one down the road) rather than commit myself to getting out in 3 years with whatever potential bad deals awaited in the interim. Based on your BODN history, I'm guessing your orders are to the same base where I was sent. In any case, good luck figuring it out!
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Rocker, thanks for the reply. You definitely bring up some good points. I didn't know this "Days Inn bar" existed until somebody mentioned it a few days ago, but I guess I'll have to check it out! Positives can be found in just about any place and any situation. I'll admit that I was spoiled by my first two assignments being in places where the positives were evident rather than having to dig to come up with a few.
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There have been several people that I know of that have declined orders to cannon because they would incur an ADSC beyond their initial 10 for a new airframe.
The number I heard when starting training earlier this year was 60% (i.e. 60% of people will 7-day opt rather than take orders to Cannon).
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Still standing by for description of "cool things" and "positives" from Rocker. In the meantime, I actually found a positive recently: Clovis has the nicest McDonald's I've ever set foot in. Clean (even has a switch you can flip if the bathroom is not "perfect"), modern design with stone and wood paneling, even flat screen TVs. Free wifi was a little too much to hope for--but seriously, who's going to pay for wifi at McDonald's in Clovistan? LOL
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What are the cool things and positives you have found living here? (not rhetorical, honest question)
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In the great big book of bad decisions, sending gunships to Cannon will be early in chapter 1.
Somewhere close to the Japanese decision to bomb Pearl Harbor and Napoleon's decision to invade Russia just before winter
So I'm still fairly new around here and will grant that I don't know sh1t, but from the modest experience I've gained both firsthand and talking to guys who have been around since Before Cannon, the above statement is spot on. The obstacles put in the way of accomplishing even a ho-hum local training sortie border on the absurd. Yes, both instructors/PP and students are commendably continuing to try to squeeze blood from a turnip, but it certainly ain't pretty. Throw in the QOL issues which have been common knowledge for years (and are not getting better), and you get a lot of unhappy campers. I would think that anyone who stays here a day longer than he has to is truly impressive in his dedication to the mission--
to them. Again, this is a n00b perspective, but there are many other n00bs coming through the pipeline and seeing the same things. -
]And speaking of Splash's post, that itinerary alone is enough to make me want to kill myself, if not slowly jam an ice pick into my eye. Their answer to 'suck' is a day full of more suck followed by CBTs? Really? They just don't 'get it.' 'Suck it up' today really equates to "you're just going to have to put up with it because Big Blue owns you bitches!" Take advantage while you can AF, the economy will recover.
To be fair, the CBT session only came about because I'd been on leave last week and didn't realize until late in the game that I needed to complete not one, not two, but THREE CBTs which all somehow pertain to CBRNE BEFORE showing up to the actual CBRNE class today. I ended up missing that class anyway after going on a wild goose chase across the base trying to pick up some equipment I apparently needed, only to finally be told that the person who could get me that equipment (along with any backups/alternates) was out for the day. It was so UFB I had to LOL.
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Resilient is just a PC way of saying "suck it up."
More deployments, less support, a war that has lost any meaning, and no end in sight. Is it really that hard to figure out?
2. We had a resiliency day here yesterday, consisting of briefings (in blues, obviously) starting at 0800, break a couple hours later to change into PT gear and run a 5K, shower and back into blues, more briefings until 1530 or so, then basewide O-call from 1600-1700+ (after which I spent the evening doing CBTs). The Wg/CC didn't even try to be PC--his message was basically "I know things suck; suck it up and quit whining. And by the way, do your masters as a LT, pay for a club membership, and don't even think about morale patches or rolling up sleeves." At the end he threw in the obligatory "you're doing a great job, keep it up [sts]", which he admitted was only because a staff member told him he needed to include a positive thought.
I respect the fact that he was up front and didn't try to bullsh!t us. The speech was certainly no morale booster, but in my opinion, morale doesn't matter much in the short term. My morale may be in the sh!tter, but I'm still going to get up and go do my job as well as I fvcking can because people's lives depend on it. The true effects of how airmen feel about their jobs will only be felt (and to an extent has been felt) when the day comes for each of us to actually decide whether we want to keep doing the job or not.
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Moody isn't far from Tifton, the Reading Capital of the World! I'm certainly biased, but I do enjoy the area--southern hospitality, it's sunny, warm, close to two oceans (ok, an ocean and a gulf), there's a decent-sized college in town. I've heard houses are really cheap too. If you don't like it there and would prefer a move to the highly desirable West Coast AFSOC Base, I just might be willing to trade places!
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I recently received a "notice of value" for my house. On it are exemptions I can claim for being the head of household and a veteran, but I called and apparently i only get those if I'm a NM resident (right now I claim TX for obvious reasons). The assessor told me I'd only save about $150/yr in property taxes with the exemptions, so it's not worth paying NM income tax in order to get them, right? I've been searching the web but haven't found any good way to determine what I would be paying in state income tax.
Thanks,
RM
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Just finished correspondence SOS, so I figure it's time to get on the ball with this Master's shizz. I haven't been in long enough to do the ACSC OLMP (<5 years TAFCS) and know there's no chance of going to a brick-and-mortar school (AFSOC flyer). The subjects that most appeal to me right now are probably Math Education and Psychology, but I'm open to any other program that's interesting and not prohibitively time-intensive. Anyone who's recently finished or still working on a Master's have some input? Thanks, RM
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I can remember, prior to his CVS departure, that he called out on one's individual professionalism if they did not shave on the weekend. We were even threatened with article 15's.
I've found another upside to Cannon--this esteemed "leader" isn't there anymore! (yes, one has to stretch to find upsides to Cannon.)
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Blovistan...the newest of several affectionate nicknames I've heard for this "city" which harbors AFSOC's West Coast base. For my money though, Afcannonstan is still tops. I've had non-AF friends cracking up over that one.
Oh and I think my sqdn just had some big briefing for suicide awareness day. I slept throught it.
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I got lit up by him, in front of everyone, in Q&A after the "General's Perspective" OTS class. I realized soon enough that I deserved it (my question implied that OTS had little to no applicability to a flying career), and during the course of the ass-chewing he even made a point of how the leadership/mentorship side really could apply to me (pilot-crew chief relations or some such), so in all he handled my brave-but-stupid behavior very fairly.
to MG Flowers for most of a lifetime of service.-
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Definitely helps, thanks a lot Duck. What was the outcome of your PC app, if you went through with it, and how many years in were you at the time?
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Trying to interpret the meaning of "2/3 of initial total ADSC" as written in Table 1.1 of the Palace Chase reg (36-3205). My truly initial ADSC was 4 years (non-Academy line officer). Then I went through Nav school and picked up a 6 year commitment for that. I'm now coming up on a PCS and associated training carrying an ADSC of 3 years plus training time, which is concurrent but will still take me several months to a year past my Nav school ADSC. For argument's sake, let's say my commissioning ADSC (assuming it exists) goes through Aug 2011, my Nav ADSC is up Oct 2014, and my PCS/training ADSC runs till Jun 2015. What DOS could I request? Thanks for the help.
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Pretty sure it is not a joke.
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Here's another
-worthy gem I found checking my webmail today...thank God I'm TDY. Emphasis and bracketed comments mine.From: XXXXXX Capt USAF XXXXXXX/ADO
Subject: Reflective belts...
XXXXXXX,
Per the XXXXXX Commander guidance, ALL personnel will start wearing their reflective belts beginning XXXXXXX and continue wearing them until XXXXXXX. This means that whenever you're here in the squadron or anywhere else on base, (i.e. Food Court, BX, Commissary, etc.), you'll be wearing your reflective belt.
...
If you don't have a reflective belt, [props if you've dodged it this long!] you can either talk to Life Support or go talk to the Group RA. Make sure you have your reflective with you when you leave work today because come Monday, you'll be expected to wear it when you report to work.
V/R,
XXXXXXX
So everywhere, all the time, indoors, outdoors, night and day. Hope the folks who live on base enjoy wearing their disco belts to sleep and in the shower. If I were back there I'd be choking myself...with my disco belt, of course. Oh wait, never mind, I wore mine to a rubiks cube party a little while back and traded it for a sweet orange sombrero.
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Appreciate the responses. Birdman, you know any reason why that house was on the market so long?
HU&W, your advice is probably sage. I'd honestly like nothing more than a place to rent that's very similar to where I live now (2 br, 2 ba, great location, lots of amenities, $900/mo), but obviously, that doesn't exist in Clovis. Thus, I am trying to figure out some kind of palatable alternative, and at least being able to get around some by foot or bike is a plus. I take your gist to be that I will be disappointed no matter where in town I choose to live. Should I then look seriously at a place in Portales instead? I read your previous posts in this thread; if you posted anything about neighborhoods of Clovis somewhere else, please advise.
I did just find one very reasonable rental, a sublet room in a new-ish (1994) place near the mall, available in Jan. Only roadblock to that is the owner is a Load (I'm a Nav; we won't be in the same sq). Overhead question--is this okay given the circumstances or just period-dot unacceptable? I would ask my boss-to-be as well, just wanted the BO opinion first.
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So the move is definitely happening, 2-3 months away, and I'm now looking at places to live in Clovis and/or Portales. As discussed before, the rental market isn't exactly stellar, but I found one interesting place which is now available both to rent and to buy. It's a multi-unit home divided up into 1-br, 2-br and 3-br pieces. Located at 1018 Fairmont Ct, close to the corner of Prince and 14th. I can rent the 3-br portion (1157 sq ft, 2-car garage, 2.5 ba I think, screen porch, fenced in backyard) for $1200/mo, or buy the whole thing (4455 sq ft, 6! br, 5.25? ba, lot size about 1/4 acre) for $275k. It seems there are already tenants in the smaller sections to whom I could presumably continue subletting. I got preapproved for a VA loan if I want to go that route.
I have to move on this fairly quickly, so looking for inputs on how good/bad a deal either of these options really is, as well as the neighborhood and all that. I know it's not as far north as the "preferred" areas to live, but it is very close to many of Clovis' restaurants and a grocery store. Being used to the amenities and lifestyle of downtown Tucson, seems like this place may be as close to that (though obviously still a far cry) as I'll find over there. The house itself is 30 years old, looks decent in the pics on AHRN but I don't take those as gospel. I just found that it's also on Zillow but info there is incomplete and inaccurate. Anyone live close by and can offer an opinion? Selling price is about at the top of my range, especially as a first-time buyer, but price per square foot is very low and the place seems to have a big upside.
Thanks for the help!
RM
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Just received this morning...
XXXXX,
General ### has come out and publically stated we need to start complying completely with the New AFI 36-2903, Dress and Appearance of Air Force Personnel.
He words are below:
1. We’ll have to follow the AFI… no morale shirts or morale patches … it’s the AFI, and doesn’t give us an out. (This Includes pen pouch patches)
2. ### is working internally to see if we can revise for the Fridays… but in meantime we have to follow the AFI.
3. This has been tradition for about 20 years… but most of the 3 and 4 stars said it wasn’t in existence when they started… started shortly after they came in… so not a real long tradition anyways.
4. We need to get right before Chief XXXX gets here…
Thank you,
XXXXXXXXX, Lt Col, USAF
Commander, ### ###
TAMInated, is it too late for me to get in on that 'NO MORALE' patch order?
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I'm in a very similar situation right now. Nav with 3+ years left on my initial ADSC, last month (after just over 2 years in my first assignment, not even close to VML) got notified that I'd be PCSing and cross-training, neither of which I particularly wanted to do in the short term. I went along--Service Before Self and all that--"knowing" that I could punch in 2014 if I didn't like the way things were going.
Upon my return to the office this week, I found an email awaiting me with a Form 63 to sign which would incur an ADSC of 3 years from my grad date from training on the new platorm, taking me well into 2015 at the earliest. I'd rather not extend my commitment for an assigment I didn't want in the first place. A couple of questions:
1. Fine print on the form 63 seems to imply that I CAN'T decline the ADSC since I'm not eligible to 7-day opt. That's not correct, is it?
2. If I do check the "no" box, what happens then? Matmac and Hookemall are saying that I may or may not still PCS. I asked my functional (maybe a bad decision, "showing my cards" and what have you, but oh well) and he didn't know the answer himself but said he would find out. In the end it is his decision, right?
Just trying to get as well-informed about this deal as possible before signing any more of my life away...
Thanks, Rman
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All that is useful to know, thanks. Is the training done at Hurlburt? (Don't worry, I know better than to expect the answer to be yes.) I figured with the influx of people to town there might be a few bars or something opening up? Oh well. As for leave policy, I meant how far from Clovis you can go without taking leave--e.g. in my current unit, it's no more than a 6-hour drive.
You'll be in training for a long time. If you make it through training, you'll PCA to the squadron and deploy a lot. Use AHRN to find rentals, focus on the northeast side of town (North of 14th and East of Prince you'll probably be fine.) For night life, there's karaoke at Apple-bees. Not sure what you mean by "local area/leave policy." Travel is common on the weekends and certainly on leave. Lubbock, Amarillo, and Roswell are just under 2 hours. Albuquerque and Santa Fe are just over 3 hours. Colorado Springs/Denver are just over 5 hours. Dallas is close to 7 hours. Phoenix is around 10 hours away. People go to those places. Lots of people own planes.
MC-12 Crash in Afghanistan
in General Discussion
Posted
Pilot was a friend and colleague from my last unit. First personal friend to be lost in the line of duty. Great guy--like others who have commented here and elsewhere, I couldn't find one negative thing to say about him.